Wide Angle Lenz [beta]

There were a lot of mixed feelings walking out of the theatre when I saw the latest Pixar adventure. It was cute, funny and the visuals were yet another step up for them (and the sound by Ben Burtt was great – but no surprise there, the man’s a genius). But I wasn’t experiencing the normal giddiness that is usually bouncing around my inner child after seeing Mr. Incredible or Nemo.

It’s really hard to avoid commentary on films now. Try as I might to avoid it, I usually go into a movie knowing a handful of opinions. Most people are pretty good at disclaiming if they are going to talk about spoilerish topics, so I avoid that before I go in. That said, I heard all about how the first part of the film is fantastic, but once Wall•E leaves Earth and boards the ship the story falls a little bit – and other opinions of the like.

I’d have to say I agree.

After seeing the full-length trailer a few months ago I was convinced that this film was going to be my favorite Pixar film to date. It looked amazing. Although it did actually LOOK amazing, the story started very strong and backed off a little bit once our pixilated planeteer left Earth. I absolutely loved every bit of the film until Wall•E started roaming the BnL star cruiser. The story wasn’t necessarily bad after that, it just wasn’t as good as Pixar usually is throughout a story.

The social commentary was brilliant – and very scary. It’s sad to watch this film and say, “that’s actually pretty believable.” Well, I’d say it’s pretty believable looking at America, I can’t speak for the rest of the world.

I don’t think I’m going to rush out to see Wall•E again in theatres, but I look forward to catching it on Blu Ray.

3 out of 4

What do you guys think? Should people go see it while it’s in theatres, or should they wait?

Here’s a secret: The only real history I have with the Hulk is the 2003 film (which sucked) and the character’s role in the Ultimate Avengers series(which I like). I haven’t seen the original television show, nor have I read any of the comics. As it’s somewhat impossible to be a Marvel geek and not know anything about the major characters, I do know of Bruce Banner, Betty Ross and the roles they play in the story.

So I went in to The Incredible Hulk with hardly any expectations. The trailers looked good, and I want the awesome geekfest that is the summer of 2008 movie season to keep going, but I really wasn’t expecting anything spectacular two hours later. I don’t think it was spectacular, but it was pretty good (and leagues better than Ang Lee’s version).

Let’s start with the character of Bruce Banner. I have heard of the squabble that went down between Edward Norton and Marvel Studios. Basically Norton had a script that explored what Bruce Banner has to endure living with the Hulk inside of him, but Marvel wanted a shorter version of the film that was more action-packed and showed the Hulk in full green glory sooner than Norton’s script had him appearing.The thing that is interesting about the Hulk isn’t the fact that he’s huge and can beat the crap out of nearly anything or anyone, it’s Bruce Banner’s struggle to understand it and control it. It’s what the Hulk does to Bruce, to Betty, to the city/world, and ultimately the Avengers. However, Marvel decided that a mere 15 minutes more of the film would make it too long and depressing for the audience to handle. LAME. All that said, though, I liked what Edward Norton did with Banner. He was a bit tougher than I expected, but I think it worked.

The entire beginning of the film was well done and I liked seeing him forced to be away from nearly everything that could frustrate him. I thought the anger management session with the martial artist was a really nice touch I wouldn’t have expected – probably because I’m not well versed in Hulk lore.

Although I haven’t watched the show before, I’m familiar with the theme song with him walking along the street – another one of those things you pick up being a geek I guess – and really liked the shot of Norton walking along the streets, hearing the theme. It was a nice touch. The little references like that worked really well in this film, which is very unusual in the Marvel films. Stan Lee had a role that actually contributed to the plot, and Lou Ferrigno’s role worked just as well – by the way, holy crap that guy is still REALLY buff. I also enjoyed the purple pants quite a bit.

The Abomination creature/character worked, and I think the build of creating that villain was much better than most hero flicks (most recent job not well done building a villain was in Iron Man). However, I really didn’t like Tim Roth’s portrayal of the superhuman soldier. He swallowed a lot of his lines and didn’t carry enough umph behind the guy. It’s interesting that they alluded to a new supervillian via the scientist that helps Banner and Ross, because I don’t think Marvel has plans for a Hulk2.

The thing that makes or breaks any Hulk film is how we actually see the Hulk on screen. There will always be a connection with live action that can’t be achieved (right now, at least) with visual effects, duh, but the expectation of a two-story Hulk makes that unachievable with any human. So the visual effects have to make the viewer truly believe they are looking at the Hulk, and not images created in post. That said, I think the Incredible Hulk looked good. The first sequence with him in the factory was awesome, and the close-ups were believable.

I liked The Incredible Hulk much better than I thought I would. I’d go see it if you’re a Marvel/super hero film fan. One more thing… Hulk SMASH!

4 out of 5